Notre Dame Accepts Invitation to Battle Ohio State in BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl

Notre Dame Accepts Invitation to Battle Ohio State in BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl   Fighting Irish to play Jan. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

For the fifth time in history, the University of Notre Dame football team is headed to the Fiesta Bowl.

Notre Dame (10-2) will meet Big Ten Conference representative Ohio State (11-1) at 1 p.m. EST (11 a.m. MST) on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, in 63,400-seat University of Phoenix Stadium (home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals) in Glendale, Arizona, in the 45th annual BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl.

The Irish qualify for one of the New Year’s Six games (as an at-large selection) under the auspices of the College Football Playoff.

It’s the sixth bowl appearance in as many seasons under Irish coach Brian Kelly, the seventh appearance for the Irish in the last eight seasons and their 10th in the last 12 years. Kelly becomes the first coach in Notre Dame history to take teams to bowl games in each of his first six seasons.

ESPN will televise the game and ESPN Radio also will carry the game. The Notre Dame IMG Football Radio Network also will carry the game.

For Notre Dame it’s a 35th postseason bowl appearance (17-17 record). It’s the sixth straight season under Kelly the Irish have played in the postseason—following appearances in the 2010 Sun Bowl, the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, the 2013 Bowl Championship Series title game, the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl and the 2014 Music City Bowl. After its Pinstripe Bowl triumph two years ago against Rutgers followed by the Music City win over LSU last year, Notre Dame will be looking to post bowl victories three consecutive seasons for the first time since doing that in three straight seasons from 1991 through 1993.

The Irish have played seven times previously in the Cotton Bowl (following 1969, 1970, 1977, 1978, 1987, 1992 and 1993 seasons), five times in the Orange Bowl (following 1972, 1974, 1989, 1990 and 1995 seasons), four times in the Sugar Bowl (1973, 1980, 1991, 2006), four times in the Fiesta Bowl (1988, 1994, 2000, 2005) and once in the Rose Bowl (1924). Additional bowl appearances sent the Irish to the Gator Bowl (1976, 1998, 2002), Liberty Bowl (1983), Aloha/Hawaii Bowl (1984, 2008), Independence Bowl (1997), Insight Bowl (2004), Sun Bowl (2010), Champs Sports Bowl (2011), BCS Championship Game (2012), Pinstripe Bowl (2013) and Music City Bowl (2014).